TVET and development: a challenging agenda for researchers and policy-makers 

BLOG l Ramiro ALBRIEU l August 2024

A few days ago, I went to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the second Inter-Regional Dialogue on Education and Development organized by Obreal, the African Union, and the Ministry of Education of Brazil. We presented several studies on technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems that a group of researchers from the FutureWORKS collective has been conducting, both at Sur Futuro and at Wits University in South Africa, with the support of IDRC and JustJobs Network. 

TVET has become a central piece in governments’ responses to the phenomenal expansion of the youth population in several countries in the Global South. In developing countries, 82% of young people aged 15 to 24 are found, and this ratio will only increase in the coming decades. In particular, Africa's role will become increasingly important: if it currently accounts for 15% of young people, that ratio will rise to 20% in twenty years and to 26% in another twenty years. Thus, when we think about the future of work on a global scale, the basic features of the labor market in the coming decades are being shaped today by strategies aimed at creating quality employment in the Global South.
 

New digital technologies represent an opportunity to advance in this regard. Societies are facing a Second Great Transformation; if in the first we moved from rural to urban spaces, in this one we are moving from the realm of atoms to the realm of bits. If the first structural transformation promoted industry over agriculture, now services are at the center of attention. Here, a second strong element is shaping the future of work: jobs are increasingly linked to the exchange of digital services. 

How can the Global South take advantage of this opportunity to create opportunities for the youth in digital labor markets? This is where TVET comes into the picture. But the problem is that there is a lot that neither researchers nor policymakers do not know about the workings of TVET systems in the developing world. We are navigating blind in terms of youth skilling in the Global South. In this regard, I outline four key issues: 

• - There is a lack of information systems for TVET. There is data on enrollment, but almost nothing on performance, for example. “Who learns what?” is a question we still cannot answer. There is still no standardization of specific strategies and the different institutional arrangements that give rise to TVET. 

1. - We know very little about the impact of TVET systems on inequality. Do they target segments with lower purchasing power, or do they increase the gap between those with different skill levels? Do TVET systems focused on digital skills provide equal opportunities for men and women? 

1. - Many TVET systems seek to retrain skills in a context where it is assumed there is excess demand, and that gap must be closed by adapting the skills on the supply side. In that sense, they are demand-driven. But should we simply assume that the demand signals generated by the market are correct for creating quality jobs for young people? One could argue yes, but there are strong arguments for adding a “but.” The question of structural reform: if we want job creation to be guided by the demand generated by the current economic structure, to what extent are we motivating structural change? 

1. - Other questions come to mind: What is the role of private provision of TVET? How can we create schemes where private investments complement, rather than compete with, public efforts? 

The research community has been working to try to answer these questions. There are comparative studies, case studies of successful initiatives, generation of specific data on TVET, etc., but I believe there is still much to be done. There are three concrete lines of action that require joint work between academia and policy. First, the creation of communities of practice on TVET, where peer learning about what works and what doesn’t in practice is promoted. Second, the design and implementation of information systems for TVET so that there is a regular flow of comparative information about what happens there in terms of enrollment, performance, and major strategic lines. Lastly, the search for a consensus conceptual framework that clearly establishes objectives, strategies, the interaction between public and private provisions, the role of other factors that make labor transition possible beyond skills (infrastructure, regulations, cultural norms), etc. 

 
I do not like the phrase “the future is here” because it gives the impression of a future that is already set. Societies lose agency if future outcomes are exogenous to what we do now. The opposite is true; for better or worse, we are building the future as we act today. And that is where we need to do more: rethink research agendas, policies and strategies to create a TVET that works for the 500 million people who will, in net terms, join the workforce in the next 10 to 15 years.